Contributing Organists
David M. Patrick, Norway
David M. Patrick who was born in Devonshire, England, in 1947 , is one of the most brilliant British organists of his time. He pursued his musical education at the Royal College of Music with distinction winning the Stuart Prize for organ in 1967 and going on to gain the coveted Walford Davies Prize the following year. This award brought him prestigious recitals at both Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral as well as the honour of being presented to H.R.H Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. His early decision to specialise in the romantic and modern French repertoire followed logically from his impulse to accept the highest technical and artistic challenges which the organ presents. Perceiving the unjustified neglect of its composers in the period between Franck and Messiaen he has successfully pioneered the works of Widor, Vierne and Duruflé in his critically acclaimed commercial recordings and B.B.C. (English National Radio) recitals. Of particular note were his Buckfast Abbey recordings of the Suite Op. 5 of Maurice Duruflé in 1976 and, in 1978, the Symphonie No. 6 by Louis Vierne.
His recording of the complete organ works of Maurice Duruflé, made in Coventry Cathedral in 1996 and released worldwide on the leading British label A.S.V., was listed as a Critics Choice of the Year by the B.B.C. Music Magazine in 1997. In a letter to David M.Patrick, the late Marie Madeleine Duruflé said "Vos interprétations des oeuvres de M. Duruflé sont excellentes, je vous en félicite. ....bien.....Trés bien.... brillant.... BRAVO."
At the same time, David M. Patrick continues to give public concerts. He has performed at many major venues in Great Britain, in the United States of America, Canada, eleven concerts in nine of the eleven Norwegian Domkirkes as well as four concerts in Reykjavik on the world famous Klais organ of the Hallgrimskirkja. Most recently, in August 2005, he performed in Bergen Domkirke and completed a new CD recording of spectacular romantic French works in Gloucester Cathedral. Future plans include further recordings.